Western Civilaization

Martin Luther 's Impact on Western Civilization

In the time period between 1302 to 1815 in Western civilization , Martin Luther

had an incredible influence on the course of events . His primary influence was during the

period of the Reformation , which was between the years of 1521 to 1532 Starting as a

monk in the Augustinian , Luther showed an early aptitude for studying and

interpreting scriptures from the early Latin and Greek versions of the Bible

Putting his past education to use , he began to question many of the

basic tenets of the

Catholic Church , which was a major force in European civilization at the time . He wrote

many works in regards to the abuses that he saw in the church including : the selling of

indulgences , charging to see relics of saints along with not allowing most of the clergy

or their church members to read and interpret the Bible for themselves (Friedenthal

1970

He attacked these abuses not only in writing , but also in his sermons and his

lectures at the university in Wittenberg , Germany where he taught theology . The genius

of Luther 's written works was that they were done in German , which made them

accessible to the average person . If he had written in Latin , which was the language of the

church , then his influence would not have been as widespread . His teachings and other

protests drew the attention of the Inquisition and also helped to spark off a storm that had

been brewing in Germany for...